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La Ciudad de Nuestra de la Paz (the city of our Lady of Peace) was founded on October 20, 1548 by Captain Alonzo de Mendoza. Mendoza, a conquistador from Spain, believed La Paz offered the perfect place to establish a city because it would bring them wealth through gold. It also offered a key link between Lima and Potosí, a city in southern Bolivia built around the richest silver mine in the world. Sadly, the arrival and consequent colonization of Bolivia profoundly changed […]

Tucked away in the heart of the Piazza, the old Italian district of Addis Ababa, lies the enchanting St. George Cathedral, one of Addis’ most beloved treasures. The St. George Cathedral was commissioned by Emperor Menelik II to commemorate his extraordinary defeat of the Italians who fought to take over Ethiopia in 1896. The victory marked a huge success for Ethiopia. The nation was able to retain their sovereignty and today remains one of the few countries in Africa that has never […]

The highlight of my visit to Cienfuegos was our late afternoon lunch at the spectacular Palacio de Valle. Built in 1913 for the wealthy business tycoon Don Acisclo del Valle, the palace is an unbelievable mix of Romanesque, Gothic, Mudejar and Baroque styles influenced by Spain’s Moorish past. The palace was designed by an Italian architect, Alfredo Colli and took over four years to complete. Today the Palacio de Valle is open to tourists at its lovely first floor restaurant and also holds various […]

When I saw our itinerary for our “people-to-people” cultural tour of Cuba (one of the only legal ways to visit Cuba as an American), the one event out of all that I was the least excited about was the visit to a cemetery. To me, visiting cemeteries are rather morbid and oftentimes depressing. Unless of course you are at the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, who wants to see a bunch of grave stones while you are happily enjoying a vacation? […]

This is the second post in a two-part series on Havana’s Malecón. To read the first post in this series, click here. Construction of Havana’s iconic Malecón began in 1901. This famous five-mile long promenade and sea wall was built primarily to protect Havana from the crashing waves and weathering from the sea. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the Malecón is one of the most popular places to be in Havana and it is a wonderful place to take a walk […]

Back in the 1950s before the Cuban Revolution and Castro’s transformation to an authoritative Communist state, Cuba was at her glory. The 50s were filled with money, mafia and decadence as some of the world’s wealthiest Americans came to Havana’s playground to enjoy her nightlife, music, gambling, prostitution and rum. During this time period, Havana’s architecture was also at her best with magnificent colonial mansions, casinos and clubs for the wealthy few Cubans who amassed their riches over the years in […]

One of the great things about being on a cultural tour of Cuba was all the interesting stuff we learned about the arts, culture, history and people of this fascinating place. Our first morning in Havana started bright and early with a lecture by highly esteemed Cuban architect Isabel Rigol, PhD. Isabel came well prepared with a slide show and five hundred years of Cuban architectural history to enlighten our group over the next hour and a half presentation. Much of Havana’s architecture is […]

Inside the center of Plaza de la Catedral in Old Havana lies the achingly beautiful Catedral de San Cristóbal de la Habana which is perhaps the grandest church in Havana. Built by Jesuits, this masterpiece of Italian Baroque architecture was completed in 1777 at a time when Cuba’s Catholics saw a growing need for new churches to build the religion. I first saw the Catedral de San Cristóbal during our afternoon tour of Old Havana. The beautiful Baroque facade designed by Italian architect Francesco Borromini […]

One of the downfalls of taking an organized tour to Cuba (the only legal way for Americans to go) is that unfortunately there is not a lot of free time. Per the restrictions imposed by the US Treasury Department, Americans must spend the entire day doing people-to-people meetings. If you don’t attend one of the meetings, the US tour operator can loose their license. Our meetings began at 9 am and typically didn’t end until after dinner around 9 or […]

After a recent trip to Cuba, I discovered that Cuban life is all a matter of perspective. As I mentioned in my last post “A Taste of Cuba“, the country is perhaps one of the most fascinating places I’ve been given its eclectic mix of history, culture and politics. What makes Cuba so incredibly interesting is that almost everything has been magically frozen in time since the Cuban Revolution over half a century ago. One of the most prevalent examples of […]

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about.me

Thirdeyemom: Traveling and exploring the world with a third-eye

I am a writer, advocate and global volunteer who blogs about travel, culture and social good. I advocate for the UN Foundation's Shot@Life, RESULTS and The ONE Campaign. I was a recent reporting fellow in Ethiopia with the International Reporting Project (June 2014) and a UN Foundation Social Good Fellow.

I am a proud member of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, Global Team of 200 and ONEMoms where I write about global health, human rights, water, food, santiation, education, and other social good topics. My work has appeared on my own three blogs as well as The Huffington Post, World Moms Blog, Broken Light Photography, Elephant Journal and Open Salon. I reside in Minneapolis, MN with my husband and two children.